The Hague, Netherlands – The Competition Authority of Sweden has approved APM Terminals’ filing for the Skandia Container Terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden.
On 11 October 2011, The Port of Gothenburg and APM Terminals signed the concession agreement to manage Sweden’s largest container terminal – the Skandia Container Terminal for the next 25 years. APM Terminals will invest over USD 115 million in the first five years of operation to make the port more competitive as a North Europe freight hub for the Nordic and Baltic markets. Most of the investment will target infrastructure improvements.
“We are very pleased that the matter has been dealt with so quickly. It is positive for both the 450 employees at the terminal and for our customers”, commented Sven Hulterström, Chairman of the Port of Gothenburg.
Keld Pedersen, APM Terminals newly appointed Managing Director of Skandia Container Terminal echoed Sven Hulterstrom’s thoughts, adding “This is a clear example of the business friendly environment Sweden offers investors and we are keen to work closely with the people of the Port of Gothenburg to build on their success.” Pedersen was selected based on his experience as head of the terminal division of the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia – one of APM Terminals’ largest volume, deepwater hub ports in Asia.
Project teams from APM Terminals and the Port of Gothenburg are now moving forward with the next steps in the implementation plan for the transfer of management and operations in January 2012.
About the Port of Gothenburg
The Port of Gothenburg, including all the terminal operations, is owned by the City of Gothenburg. When the new corporate structure is in place, operations will be divided into a Port Authority and three terminal companies run by external operators. The external operators will be responsible for operations, i.e. the handling of goods at each terminal, whilst the Port Authority will act as landlord and assume responsibility for the infrastructure.
As Port authority, the Port of Gothenburg will:
● handle official supervision within the port.
● own or control the land covered by the port as well as adjoining water areas.
The Port Authority is responsible for ensuring that the necessary infrastructure is in place within the port.
● be responsible for the port’s long-term development and planning.
● have overall responsibility for the general marketing and commercial development of the port/port region.
● finance its work through the levying of port charges.
The three terminals, the Container Terminal, Ro/Ro Terminal and Vehicle Terminal, which are currently owned and operated by the Port of Gothenburg, will under the new structure be operated by external operators:
Älvsborg Ro/Ro
In October 2010, an agreement was reached with DFDS and Cobelfret as the new operator of Älvsborg Ro/Ro AB. The transfer was subject to approval by the Swedish Competition Authority, which is standard practice in conjunction with major transfers.
The Competition Authority has decided to refer the matter for examination by the EU.
DFDS and Cobelfret are jointly responsible for the application, which will be filed with the authorities in Brussels as soon as possible.
Gothenburg Car Terminal
The Port of Gothenburg signed a ten-year concession agreement with the Swedish logistics company Logent, which since April 4th operates the Car Terminal at the Port of Gothenburg – Gothenburg Car Terminal AB.
Skandia Container Terminal
The process of transferring the Container Terminal to APM Terminals is proceeding with the implementation and handover expected January 2012.
Port Facts (2010 figures)
• 880, 000 containers TEU
• 564, 000 ro/ro units
• 233, 000 new cars
• 1.68 million passengers
• 22.7 million tonnes of oil
• 43.8 million tonnes of goods
• 900 employees
